Unraveling the resource puzzle: exploring entrepreneurial resource management and the quest for new venture success

Existing research highlights resource management as a complicated and multifaceted system comprising interdependent components, rather than a collection of independent factors. Nonetheless, the precise influence of resource management approaches on value generation and overall prosperity in new business endeavors, especially within diverse contextual environments, remains unclear. To address this gap, our study adopts a neo-configurational approach to explore how entrepreneurial resource management components (e.g., structuring, bundling, and leveraging) relate to achieving success in start-ups. We also examine the contextual influence of environmental dynamism and munificence on the effectiveness of these resource management strategies. By analyzing a comprehensive sample of over 500 US-based ventures, we develop a theoretical framework that encompasses four distinct resource management strategies. This framework provides insights into the attainment of success across diverse environments, characterized by varying levels of dynamism and munificence. Our study contributes to extant literature by emphasizing that the achievement of a competitive advantage in entrepreneurial firms is contingent upon the alignment of internal resource management strategies with external factors, specifically dynamism and munificence.